Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has urged James Maddison to use his England Euros heartache to relaunch his Tottenham career - starting against his former club Leicester on Monday.
And the Aussie boss admitted Spurs are a “more dangerous team” when Maddison is on his game. The Spurs playmaker was the star of his side’s dazzling start to last season as they topped the table after the first 10 games.
But Maddison suffered an ankle injury in the first defeat to Chelsea in November which ruled him out for two months - and he never recovered his early-season swagger. The ex-Fox admitted he was “devastated” to miss out on Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad for Germany and now faces a big year for his club.
“The disappointments of missing Euros, well that’s just part of being a footballer,” said Postecoglou. “You take all the good stuff, but you have setbacks and it’s how you react to those. I’m sure he’ll want to go out there and get himself back into the international frame and back playing for England.
“That’s up to him to find the right way to use that as a motivation. If you just deflect or at any point say, ‘It had nothing to do with me’ then you miss an opportunity to improve.
“I sense in Madders that he’s come back, he’s really determined to have a good season and hopefully that gets him back into the England frame. But more importantly for us, hopefully it gets him back to the form we know he can have.”
Maddison's Struggles: More Fitness Than Confidence
“I don’t know what confidence a player really means,” he said. “As a player, you have got to be on it all the time. You can’t pick and chose. If you are physically fit and get selected, you should be buzzing. With Madders, he certainly doesn’t lack self-belief.
“He knows he can be a real dominant player. I just think with Madders last season a lot of it was the physical element where when he wasn’t 100% fit he couldn’t really perform at the levels he wanted to. When he came back from injury, I never felt he reached those physical levels he had earlier in the year. That is a real key for him.”
Key Player For Tottenham
Maddison’s dart-throwing goal celebration - and his subsequent copyright spat with Neal Maupay - showed he can entertain not just with his football skills.
“It is the reason we signed him - he is an exciting player,” the head coach added. “When the ball is at his feet, he is one of those creative types. For most people, that is what rocks their boat. For others love a big tackle and a great save.
“He is definitely one of the players who can get punters off their seats. I think the players feed off that as well. Yes, it is important for us that he is playing at his best. I think he makes us a better team and a more dangerous team and hopefully that is what we see.”
Maddison has the potential of forming a fearsome attacking trident along with captain Son Heung-min and new £65m striker Dominic Solanke.
“My role in all signings is pretty small - I just make the decision mate,” smiled Postecoglou. “I’m the one that says yes or no. they’re here because I want them here and Dom certainly fits that. It’s no secret that we love to press and he has a great work ethic. And he can score goals. He’s a presence and he scores different types of goals. I think the way we play suits him.”
A Fresh Start
Fit and confident, he is one of the League's most exciting creative players but if he continues to struggle for rhythm, he may quickly find his club place under threat again.
